Kaiser Family Foundation: 10 Things to Know About Medicare Part D Coverage and Costs in 2019

  1. Medicare Part D enrollment has doubled since 2006
  2. now totaling 45 million people in 2019
  3. For the first time since the Part D program started in 2006
  4. enrollment in stand-alone drug plans has decreased somewhat
  5. while enrollment in Medicare Advantage drug plans continues to increase
  6. Three firms—UnitedHealth
  7. Humana
  8. and CVS Health—cover nearly 60 percent of all Medicare Part D enrollees in 2019
  9. CVS Health
  10. UnitedHealth
  11. and Humana have the most stand-alone PDP enrollees in 2019
  12. but PDP enrollment in each firm decreased modestly from 2018
  13. Based on enrollment decisions for 2019
  14. the average monthly premium for stand-alone PDPs decreased by 4% in 2019 to $40
  15. after several years of modest increases
  16. Monthly premiums for the top 10 PDPs by enrollment vary
  17. but most are lower than the national average
  18. Most Part D enrollees face relatively low cost sharing for preferred generic drugs
  19. but higher amounts for generics not on the preferred tier
  20. For non-preferred drugs
  21. most MA-PD enrollees face copayments while most PDP enrollees face coinsurance; for preferred brands
  22. copayments are more common than coinsurance for both types of enrollees
  23. In 2019
  24. roughly 3 in 10 Part D enrollees receive low-income subsidies (LIS) to help pay their Part D premiums and cost sharing
  25. but the share of enrollees receiving these subsidies has declined over
  26. In 2019
  27. around 1 in 10 low-income subsidy enrollees pay an average of nearly $24 per month for Part D coverage because they are not enrolled in a premium-free plan

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation - https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/10-things-to-know-about-medicare-part-…

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